Summary: it looks that way, but the filmmakers are being very coy. *** In an [interview with the NY Daily News][1] published May 11, 2014, director Gareth Edwards says: >“As we were writing the film, the horrible events in Fukushima (a tsunami-caused nuclear meltdown) happened and we had to make the decision: Do we stay away from that or do we acknowledge that you’ve opened this Pandora’s box of nuclear power, and when it goes wrong, it really does go wrong?” This is careful phrasing. Edwards doesn't confirm that the scene in the film is *inspired* by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, only acknowledges that he considered incorporating it into the film. Edwards is more explicit in an [interview with Scifi UK][2] published May 16: >“When you list what makes a Godzilla movie two of those things that come up are radiation and Japan, and so once the events happened that were horrific for real in Japan, we had to be very careful and sensitive not to do something that would be considered insensitive to what happened there. >“Our film is not based on anything to do with Fukushima, it’s in a fictional city outside of Tokyo and happens 15 years ago, but that said it does deal with the genuine problem of around the world we have these nuclear power plants and we benefit from it." This again is careful phrasing. Of course Godzilla is not *about* any real-world event. According to Wikipedia, scriptwriting began on in 2010, before the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami that compromised Fukushima. It's unclear when the nuclear plant disaster scene was conceived or who incorporated it into rewrites, but long ago as January 2013 rewriter Frank Darabont said in an [interview with io9]: >**Are you looking to connect it to a different contemporary issue?** >Frank Darabont: Yes I am, but I'm not going to give it away. It certainly seems like a reference. Reviewers are quick to make the connection: >Godzilla's basic plot centers around the fallout, literal and metaphorical, from a Fukushima-like nuclear plant meltdown. ([Ars Technica][3]) >[Janjira is] a barely-disguised reference to the real-world Fukushima nuclear plant meltdown... ([Times of India][4]) >The movie opens with a disaster at a Japanese nuclear power reactor -- an obvious reference to the 2011 incident at the Fukushima facility. ([HuffPo][5]) Imagery of a collapsing nuclear plant are evocative of what we *feel* Fukushima was like (though no such collapse occurred; the meltdown was due to flooding from the *tsunami* caused by the 3/11 earthquake which compromised the cooling system). The way collapsing buildings are evocative of 9/11, anything relating to Japanese nuclear safety is likely to evoke thoughts of Fukushima. *** Disclaimer: As of this writing Godzilla (2014) has only been in theaters for about a week and is not yet released in Japan. I anticipate a great deal of discussion on the topic once the whole world has a chance to react to the film, and once the filmmakers feel more comfortable about their inspirations and references, we'll get an explicit answer. Maybe in the DVD commentary, maybe much sooner! I'll try to keep this answer updated. [1]: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/new-godzilla-reflects-fears-nuclear-natural-disasters-article-1.1784809 [2]: http://www.scifinow.co.uk/news/godzilla-is-not-about-fukushima-says-gareth-edwards/ [3]: http://arstechnica.com/the-multiverse/2014/05/how-godzilla-stays-relevant-in-a-world-of-abundant-nuclear-warheads/ [4]: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/english/movie-review/Godzilla/movie-review/35156367.cms [5]: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joe-cirincione/godzilla-is-back---and-he_b_5337943.html